Category Archives: Testosterone News

   A new study shows that its not only women's bodies that adapt to parenthood: fathers who sleep next to their tot show dips in their levels of testosterone, which researchers say is good for the baby. In prior researcher, study author Gettler (currently of the University of Notre Dame in the US state of Indiana) and his colleagues found that when men become fathers, their testosterone levels drop and the more involved dads were in caring for their children, the more significant their drops in the hormone. A new study suggests that men's bodies make adjustments to better adapt to child rearing. AFP/Relaxnews After taking saliva samples before and after sleep, they found those who shared a bed with junior had dips in their testosterone levels in the evening. The researchers also took testosterone samples in 2005 and 2009, and they found that dads who dozed next to their child had a third less testosterone than before, compared to dads who slept separately. While high testosterone levels have been linked to aggression, extroversion, and risk-taking, lower testosterone levels are good for parenthood. Drops in testosterone have been connected to fathers responsiveness to their children, wrote the study authors. The … Read more »

There is some positive news about marriage. Researchers from the University of Adelaide in Australia have found that drops in testosterone levels in men are not necessarily just a consequence of age but are also products of lifestyle and behavior. Presented at the Endocrine Society's 94th Annual Meeting in Houston, Texas, the study revealed that being obese, whether or not a man smoked and was depressed were all linked with significant drops in testosterone. Another interesting statistic showed that men who were not married had much more significant drops in their testosterone levels than their married counterparts. To obtain their findings, the scientists analyzed testosterone measurements in over 1,500 men. The men had their hormone levels tested once and then a second time five years later. On average, men's testosterone levels fell at one percent each year; but when subgroups were compared to one another, the researchers found the drops to be much more significant in those who were overweight, depressed or had troubles quitting smoking. According to Dr. Gary Wittert, the study's co-author, it makes sense that married men would have higher testosterone levels due to previous research that suggests men who are married are happier and in better … Read more »

Testosterone makes us overvalue our own opinions at the expense of cooperation, research from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at UCL (University College London) has found. The findings may have implications for how group decisions are affected by dominant individuals. It also suggests that testosterone might make people more determined and set in their ways when they make decisions about the future. Could it also give such determined people the image in others as pigheaded, monomaniacal, knows-what-they-want or even as a born leader. Thus this spectrum of behaviors can be interpreted in different ways by different people. But one thing seems to be sure, men with higher testosterone appear to be on average more successful in life. Group versus Individual or Collective Versus Minority of One Problem-solving in groups can provide benefits over individual decisions as we can share our information and expertise. However, there is a tension between cooperation and self-orientated behavior: although groups might benefit from a collective intelligence, collaborating too tightly can lead to an uncritical group-think, ending in decisions that are bad for all. Evolution seems to favor a hierarchical structure; lone hunting animals are less likely to survive than pack animals with an alpha … Read more »

A new study suggests that men with more testosterone tend to lie less than those with low testosterone. Researchers in Germany found that those who were given testosterone before the study told fewer lies than those who did not receive the shot. An earlier study has already linked testosterone with risky financial behavior. "Testosterone has always been said to promote aggressive and risky behavior and posturing," said Bernard Weber, a neuroscientist from the Center for Economics and Neuroscience in Bonn, according to the Irish Independent. The study gave 46 participants extra testosterone while 45 others were given a placebo. They were then given a game to play which allowed for the inherent possibility of lying to earn money. Those with higher testosterone, it was shown, lied less frequently. "Test subjects with the higher testosterone levels had clearly lied less frequently than untreated test subjects," said co-author Armin Falk, according to Cordis. "This result clearly contradicts the one-dimensional approach that testosterone results in anti-social behavior." Reference Testosterone increases honesty, study suggests … Read more »

On screen, he plays a crimebusting officer, leading a crack team of elite men and women from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, in the TV series Point Of Entry. But in reality, actor Bernard Tan has suffered for nearly three years from fatigue and a lack of motivation to go about his daily activities - including acting. "Initially, I thought I was overworked and that I should sleep more. Even after getting enough rest, I still felt that way," the 49-year-old bachelor said yesterday. But a pamphlet he came across in a clinic recently made him realize that he could be suffering from hypogonadism - or testosterone deficiency syndrome. "I actually took the pamphlet because I wanted to get the same hairstyle as the male model featured on it," he quipped during a media briefing at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel yesterday. In the end, he did not get the hairstyle as his hairstylist told him that his hair would have to be damaged to achieve the look. But he did find out what was wrong when he went through a checklist on the pamphlet, which was on hypogonadism. "I realized that I answered ‘yes' to seven of the ten … Read more »

A sharp uptake of testosterone products by Australian men has been blamed on ‘disease mongering' by pharmaceutical companies. Testosterone product use jumped 115 percent from about 29,000 products dispensed in 2005 to 62,000 in 2010 following the marketing of a new gel, according to Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme statistics. Pharmaceutical companies marketing testosterone products in both Australia and Canada found ways to skirt advertising laws by warning that symptoms including low energy, low sex drive and even falling asleep after dinner could be due to low testosterone levels, researchers said. Advertisements by two companies which ran in Australia and Canada in the past four years encouraged men with the symptoms to see their doctor for a testosterone test and ask about new treatments. Australian and Canadian researchers said low testosterone was an unlikely cause of these symptoms. Testosterone treatment has not been shown to improve libido, and sexual function, depression and cognitive function, or quality of life in men with age-related testosterone loss,' Agnes Vitry from the University of South Australia and Barbara Mintzes from the University of British Columbia in Canada said. The researchers said testosterone therapy could expose men to many unwanted adverse effects, including progression to subclinical prostate … Read more »

The prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) has men of all ages seeking the most effective treatment. In recent years, low testosterone is the scapegoat for a growing number of male sexuality issues, including low sex drive and impotence. Testosterone therapy may be comfortable, but top penile implant surgeon, Dr. J. Francois Eid, cautions that the fallout is an abundance of men unnecessarily "addicted" to hormone replacement therapy. "Testosterone replacement therapy arrests the body's natural production of testosterone. The treatment is now showing striking similarities to past problems with hormone replacement for women," explains Dr. Eid, an innovator of the No-Touch Technique for a penile implant and penile prosthesis surgery. "Surgery isn't the answer for everyone, but neither is testosterone. Accurate diagnosis of ED symptoms is critical," he says. "Very few men have abnormal (low) testosterone. We have to explore ED causes before assuming low testosterone to be the reason." Testosterone is responsible for many a manly attribute, but Dr. Eid answers the five most common myths about "Low T" treatment. Myth #1: My erection problems are caused by low testosterone. Truth: The ability to achieve and sustain a normal erection does not require an average testosterone level. Increasing testosterone level … Read more »

MONTREAL Boys will be boys, as the adage goes, with their boisterous rough-and-tumble play so stereotypically male. Is it the doings of a primary sex hormone called testosterone, long associated with social dominance, masculinity, and strength? Many scientists have explored the role of hormones and conduct, whether in school playgrounds, sports, war or bedrooms. Now a Universite de Montreal study of five-month-old twins is among the first to tease out the contribution of genetic and environmental factors to circulating levels of this chemical. The research with infant twins suggests that the environment plays a more significant role than genes when it comes to testosterone levels. Studies in human and animal models over the past 50 years have confirmed an association between aggression, dominance, and testosterone in adolescence said lead author Richard Tremblay of UdeM's research unit on children's psychosocial maladjustment. "The question is, when does that association start" asked Tremblay, whose team looked at newborn babies of both sexes. Published in the online edition of Psychoneuroendocrinology, the study compared testosterone in saliva samples from a total of 314 infants identical twins with non-identical twins. Identical pairs share the same genes, while fraternal twins are like any siblings and share 50 … Read more »

  The Effects of Hypogonadism on Men Learn more about the causes and cures of this ever-increasing problem    Your physician enters the room with a somber demeanor and announces "Your blood tests are back, and it's confirmed: you have hypogonadism."    The response of many men to this somewhat confusing pronouncement is often: "what's that?" The medical, professional, clinical definition of hypogonadism is the reduction or absence of hormone secretion or other physiological activity of the gonads (testes). The Endocrine Society practice guideline has a similar definition: Hypogonadism in men is a clinical syndrome that results from failure of the testis to produce physiological levels of testosterone (thus androgen deficiency) and an average number of spermatozoa due to disruption of one or more levels of the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis.    In plain English, this means the decreased production of the critical male hormones that make men men…especially testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). This condition is sometimes given the moniker "low t."    Then more depressing news follows. All-too-often, older men are told that their condition is specifically called Age-Associated Hypogonadism, sometimes referred to as Late-onset hypogonadism. At around age 31, a man's levels of growth hormone and testosterone begin to decline … Read more »

     Testosterone. For males, this is the magic hormone. As a young boy enters puberty, testosterone begins to flood his system. By his mid-teens, it is becoming a floodgate and keeps flowing throughout his twenties. Why is testosterone so important? Because it makes men MEN. From burning fat to building muscle, from having youthful energy to boosting your brainpower, from having the unbreakable willpower to exuding confidence, testosterone is the key. Most men don't pay too much attention to testosterone when they are young. After all, why should they? It is so easy to take it for granted since the supply is seemingly endless. Unfortunately, Mother Nature has other plans That's correct. Beginning at approximately age thirty, men start to lose testosterone. By most estimates, the decline of free testosterone in the blood levels drops off by around 10% per year. Do the math. By the time a man has reached eighty, he is lucky to have one-half of the testosterone levels that he did fifty years ago. And the consequences aren't pretty Weakened muscles…a steep drop in stamina and endurance…increasing aches and pains…brain fog…brittle bones…worn-out Glands…thinning, wrinkled skin…diminished sex life…it sounds like a parade from the depths of … Read more »